"While the games might need ad sponsors, marketers see many reasons why games are simply not advertiser-friendly. For one thing, there is little opportunity to adequately assess return on investment. Another problem, said Berger, is that publishers can't guarantee to advertisers in advance how many units will be sold. And developing a video game can take many months--longer than most marketers are willing to wait to roll out an ad campaign.

Some of those problems might be solved when the next generation of consoles comes out, because they will have built-in Internet functionality, which brings with it the prospect of dynamic in-game ad serving. This capability, Madden said, could eventually lead to a more TV-like business model, where games are bought and sold on measurable cost-per-thousand impressions, without the hassle of months of planning. Madden said the industry is still four to six years from this becoming reality. The panelists agreed that in the short term, online gaming and advergaming remain the most cost- effective platforms for advertisers."
--Media Daily News